Sports

It’s about winning and how you play the game

Superstar athletes and sports franchises are merely the public faces of a multi-billion dollar business infrastructure that operates in increasingly complex and specialized ways. Money flows in and out from countless revenue streams. The fans, the media, and the government are scrutinizing every move every player makes. Never before has the highly skilled sports lawyer been such an important member of the team.

Manatt has been servicing clients in the sports industry for decades.   Its alumni include famous sports agents and a former name partner who went on to become the first Commissioner of Major League Soccer.   

Many firms only specialize in one aspect of sports law.  Thanks to its broad sports-related client base, Manatt offers a broad range of services for all your sports-related needs.  The attorneys in Manatt’s Sports Law Practice Group are thought leaders in the industry, providing counsel on complex business deals, public policy, and litigation to athletes, sports leagues, universities, public sports authorities, corporate sponsors, and a wide range of other industry stakeholders.

With offices in the media capitals of New York and Los Angeles, we offer sports industry clients unsurpassed advertising and marketing law capabilities to manage multi-million dollar sponsorship agreements between leading cable and broadcast sports networks and sports media giants.  We’re also skilled sports litigators with deep resources in related practice areas, including real estate and land use, intellectual property, employment and labor, public finance, construction, and tax law.

Thanks to new  practices such as deferred compensation and talent buyouts, deals and contracts are more sophisticated.  When managing deals, we ensure every issue is addressed, every opportunity is explored, and every base is covered. We also have experience in international sports transactions, enabling foreign interests to own profitable domestic franchises and allowing U.S. franchises to reach a global audience.

Sophisticated testing for performance-enhancing substances has become routine, creating legal and public relations minefields for players, coaches, and owners as well as an irresistible narrative for sports journalists and reporters. We’ll look at every point of vulnerability in your organization to better protect you from controversy.

Manatt in Action

• Elgin Baylor v. L.A Clippers Basketball Club.  After resigning as the Clippers’ general manager and executive vice president in 2008, Elgin Baylor sued the team, its owner, and its president for unlawful termination, discrimination, and harassment based on his age. Also claiming racial discrimination and harassment by the team, Baylor and his lawyers sought millions of dollars for alleged economic, mental distress, and punitive damages. Refusing to settle and willing to take the lawsuit all the way to trial, the Clippers hired us to mount an aggressive defense. Just one day before the trial was set to begin, the Court granted several of our pivotal evidentiary motions that paralyzed Baylor’s race claims, leading Baylor to dismiss them with prejudice. Our team was then able to quickly revise its strategy to focus on unraveling Baylor’s age claims at trial. By a unanimous 12-0 vote, the jury determined that none of Baylor’s claims had merit, and fully exonerated the Clippers, owner Donald T. Sterling, and president Andy Roeser.
• Stadium and Arena Matters. Whether you’re looking to build a stadium or having issues with its operations, Manatt can help.  We have managed major land use and stadium development deals for the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Washington Nationals – including legislative approvals and lease negotiations.  We played a major role in the issuance of $535 million in Ballpark Revenue Bonds that helped bring the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball to Washington, D.C.  We represented the California State University Dominguez Hills in the negotiation and documentation of all of the agreements for the development of the Home Depot Center.  On the operations side, we have drafted and negotiated numerous diverse hospitality agreements for the Staples Center, the home court of both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
• College Athletics.  In addition to our work in professional sports, Manatt also has done a significant amount of work in college athletics.  We represented The Trustees of the California State University in connection with documenting the terms and conditions of development by a private entity of the Home Depot Center, a new soccer stadium, tennis stadium, USSF training facilities and other athletic facilities on the campus of CSU, Dominguez Hills, including ground leases, an implementation agreement, a joint use agreement and multiple other agreements governing the site.  We also obtained a historic court ruling for a group of female high school athletes in San Diego, California who had sued for injunctive relief under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.  It was the first time in which a class of high school female athletes had won summary judgment on the issue of failure to provide equal participation opportunities under Title IX.
• Foreign Matters.  Manatt’s sports-related experience is not limited solely to the United States.  After assisting the City of Johannesburg, South Africa, in a study for the development of Johannesburg’s first “economic empowerment zone” – an area designated as a priority zone for business investment and social empowerment, which, in this case, just happened to include the main stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2010 – the City sought our advice on how U.S. municipalities and states have structured tax lien securitizations and other financings to yield additional cash flow.  The City plans to use this financing arrangement to fund additional infrastructure, housing, and other demands that have increased because of the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2010.
• Jim Brown v. Electronic Arts.  After Jim Brown's case against Electronic Arts for use of his image was dismissed from federal district court, he asked Manatt to represent him in the appeal. The case is scheduled for re-argument on July 13, 2012. The matter involves important issues balancing the right of publicity versus the First Amendment.